


silent breaths in the night

by Anonymous



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 05:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14254467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/





	silent breaths in the night

There was only one other person warming his bed when Julian awoke. Slowly his head rose and fell with the breathing of his remaining companion's chest, which his head was cushioned on. But the empty space behind him was now conspicously cold and  the covers had been carefully arranged around him again as if they had never been disturbed.

Concerned, Julian rolled over so he could see the rest of the room. He quickly came face to face with Elim. The Cardassian gazed back at him silently from a chair in the corner. His face was as hard to read as it always was, which was probably to be expected from an agent of the Obsidian Order, even after an energetic night  But Julian thought his eyes softened a little at the sight of Julian looking back at him.

"What are you doing over there?" Julian asked.

He spoke in a voice quiet enough to avoid disturbing the other Cardassian sleeping beside him. Elim inclined his head in silence and gave a little shrug. When he failed to answer, Julian couldn't stop his mind from running away with him. Turning possibilities over and over in his head, discarding scenarios faster than any normal human could have even begun to dream them up. Perhaps Elim had been ordered to kill him and was contemplating the best way to do it. Perhaps he had just received new orders from Cardassia, or was returning from an assassination somewhere elsewhere on the station.  


"Elim?" 

Julian spoke before he could go mad wondering. But instead of answering Elim was silently standing from his chair and slipping out the door before he could think of what question to ask first. Once Elim had left the room, Damar's breathing changed. Surprised, Julian turned back and found Damar's eyes were open and staring back at him.

"Leave him be."

Julian frowned and glanced at the door again despite Damar's instruction. Damar repeated his words. When Julian still didn't seem to listen, Damar reached over and tugged Julian back down into the bed. The pillow was cool beneath his cheek this time, but Damar's arm was warm where it wrapped around him and gently trapped him against the mattress.

"He carries great burdens for the Empire. Sometimes they prevent him from sleeping and that is when it is the duty of other Cardassians to help him to carry those burdens."  


Julian frowned.  


"So when we met at Quark's and I noticed he looked tired...."

Julian didn't finish the thought. It had just been a physician's perogative to notice aspects of alien physiology that might go unnoticed by another human. But it seemed Damar, and possibly Elim Garak if he was aware of Damar micromanaging his wellbeing, had considered it to be a sort of proposition.  


"Well, that is unexpected."  


Damar didn't smile but Julian thought he looked exceedingly smug.  


"I didn't say it was an unpleasant duty," he said as he suddenly rolled over and kissed Julian until Julian started to laugh.  



End file.
